SPRINGFIELD, MA (04/30/09) - The New England Mutiny of the East Conference of the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is pleased to announce their current signings for its seventh WPSL season, which kicks off on Saturday, May 16th at Northampton High School against the Maine Tide. After losing a number of key players to the professional ranks and their respective retirements, the defending WPSL East champions look to rebuild with youth in 2009 - yet, they can count on one veteran returnee to serve as the core of the side.

"I am excited to have this core of players returning for the 2009 season," said New England Owner Joe Ferrara. "We need to replace a few players that were the face of this franchise for years, but I am confident that we will maintain the very high level that the Mutiny is accustomed to providing its fans."

Jenny Maurer (East Longmeadow, MA) will return for a franchise-record seventh season, after an off-season of nearly making the final rosters of a number of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) organizations. The former captain for the Boston College Eagles & multiple All-WPSL selection has been a member of the U-21 U.S. Women's National Team. Yet, Maurer will not have long-time midfield partner Meghan Schnur alongside her in 2009 as the former First Team All-American is now patrolling the pitch for Sky Blue F.C. of WPS.

"Jenny's signed to play, and this year she'll have no prior commitments," said Ferrara, in a recent article by Mike Bogen of The Republican. "We'll have her from beginning to end."

The Mutiny will now rely heavily on local standout Danielle Dakin (Wilbraham, MA). Dakin - the youngest player in franchise history when she signed as a high school sophomore two years ago - was recently selected as the Massachusetts Female Soccer Player of the Year and will suit up for Head Coach Len Tsantiris & his University of Connecticut Huskies this fall. In a sign of things to come, Danielle was selected to the All-WPSL Final Four Tournament Team last season.

"Danielle has very good skills and is a very tactical player that has experience at the regional level," said Tsantiris. "As a defensive player, she has the ability to win balls and does a great job keeping possession and starting the attack. She has the potential to do very well for us and we are excited to have her join us this coming fall."

Rounding out the midfield will be another key returnee - Becky Gundling (Farmington, CT). Gundling has been patrolling the UConn midfield the past few seasons, where she has been a starter since her freshman season. The backline will see three more Huskies return to New England as Karen Gurnon (Tolland, CT), Meghan Cunningham (Simsbury, CT) and Jessica Diakun (Glastonbury, CT). Gurnon - signed by the Mutiny as a high school senior - finished last season as the Mutiny's starting center back, where she also started in 20 of 22 matches in her first collegiate campaign for UConn last fall.

This will be Cunningham's third season with New England and is building a reputation for big game heroics with two penalty kick game-winners in NCAA tournament play for UConn and a penalty kick game-winner for the Mutiny that sent them to the 2007 WPSL National Final. Defensive stalwart Jessica Diakun returns to the squad for her fifth season after suffering a season-ending injury a year ago.

Forward Erin Clark (Somers, CT) rounds out the UConn contingent and returns for her third season for New England, having scored 11 goals in the past two seasons. Her goal-scroing heroics include the game-winner versus then-undefeated SoccerPlus CT Reds in the 2008 East Final which catapulted the Mutiny into the WPSL National Final Four, held in Sacramento, CA.
 
Canadian National Team goalkeeper & All-WPSL First Team honoree Stephanie Labbe will be playing professionally in Sweden this year, so the Mutiny will look to replace her presence in net. Vying for that spot will be Lauren Brodeur (Wilbraham, MA), who guarded the posts for Head Coach John Natale at the University of Hartford this past fall, starting all 19 matches for the Hawks while posting a 0.65 GAA.
 
Newcomers Brittany Berry and Riley Houle conclude the early signings for the Summer 2009 season. Berry (Springfield, MA) set a record for 59 goals in a season at Sci-Tech H.S. before moving on to Wilbraham & Monson this past fall. Houle (Windham, CT) is fresh off her performance in the Algarve Cup for the U-17 U.S. National Team. She received the "Golden Boot" Award given to the leading scorer at the Elite Soccer Program (ESP) - a camp for the top 150 high school players in the nation.

"Riley will make an impact for us... She's going to be a star," said Ferrara [from The Republican article]. "Brittany hits the ball harder than any kid I've ever seen... She hits the ball as hard as Maurer. I can't say I expect her to have a great impact on us this year, but someday she will. She's got tremendous potential."

The New England Mutiny has been internationally recognized as one of the top women's soccer teams & are the defending five-time East Conference Champions, qualifying for the WPSL National Championship in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008. The Mutiny will also play their home matches at their traditional venue of Agawam H.S. this season, however, the team will also travel a little south to Fermi H.S. for a home match in Enfield, CT. For more information, visit their official website at http://www.mutinysoccer.com.

The WPSL is a 50-plus team national women's soccer league with five conferences and is considered one of the top women's soccer leagues in the world. You can now keep up with our league on our social networking sites on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com)!

The Long Island Fury have been selected to host the 2009 WPSL Final Four which will be held at Adelphi University (Garden City, NY) - alongside the YPSL National Championship that same weekend. The tentative dates are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, August 1-2 and check back to this website in the coming days & weeks for further information!

The WPSL's mission is to provide the highest level of women's soccer while simultaneously providing affordable, quality family entertainment and positive role models for our youth. For more information, visit our official website at http://www.wpsl.info, phone us at 1-800-854-0913 or contact us via email at media@wpsl.info.